India ranks second globally for FIFA World Cup content interest

MUMBAI: Football may still be chasing cricket on the pitch, but online, it is already playing in the big league. New data suggests India’s appetite for the FIFA World Cup is growing at a remarkable pace, with the country emerging as the world’s second-most engaged market for World Cup-related content despite having no team in the tournament. According to readership data collected over the past 90 days, India generated 9.7 million pageviews for World Cup-related content across the open web, trailing only the United States and surpassing several of football’s traditional strongholds.

The figures place India ahead of Brazil, which recorded 8.5 million pageviews, as well as France at 6.4 million. Germany generated 542,000 pageviews, while Spain recorded 1.5 million, highlighting the scale of Indian interest in football’s biggest global event.

The numbers raise an increasingly relevant question for broadcasters, advertisers and sports marketers, has football become India’s second-most-followed global sport after cricket?

While India’s national team remains absent from the FIFA World Cup stage, Indian audiences have steadily embraced international football through European club competitions, global leagues, streaming platforms and social media. Star players, club rivalries and major international tournaments have built loyal fan communities that extend far beyond match days.

The surge in readership also reflects broader changes in sports consumption habits. Younger audiences are increasingly engaging with global sporting properties through digital content, highlights, analysis, social media discussions and creator-led coverage rather than traditional television alone.

For brands and broadcasters, the trend presents a compelling opportunity. As football fandom deepens across urban and digital-first audiences, major tournaments are becoming valuable platforms for advertising, sponsorships and audience engagement, even in markets where the national team is not competing.

The latest data suggests that while cricket remains India’s undisputed sporting giant, football is quietly strengthening its claim to the country’s number two spot, one pageview at a time.